2 Weeks of Catching Up!

I apologize for the delay on my posts! There is just so much that goes on that I either get too lazy to write about them right away or I get caught up with everything that I don't have time!
Since the last time I posted (East Indian Experience) we have done so much. We got to participate in the Phagwa celebration which is a Hindu event that welcomes the Spring time and is known as the Festival of Colors. This celebration was definitely one of my favorites. Dressing in all white is a requirement because the moment we stepped on the field that the celebration was held at, we began getting sprayed with abir (a purple colored liquid mix) and a bunch of colored powders! We had no time to settle in and get our stuff ready! Haha. We came prepared with gallons and water bottles full of abir so that was good. We all found our spot and began retaliating on anyone that we spotted targeting us. We were spraying everyone down as they were with us, chasing people with our packs of colored powder, and attacking anyone that attacked us. It was funny seeing little kids about 7 to 12 years old with these water gun contraptions spraying us from feet away with evil little smiles on their faces haha. The older guys were the ones that didn't care & attacked us without holding back. They would come up behind us and smack our faces with powder or dump abir on us. Within a matter of minutes we were all stained purple and couldn't recognize each other. No one from our group held back from getting even. It was lots of fun just letting loose and getting dirty. The Hindu community was so welcoming and had lots of fun attacking us as clean Americans. They were surprised at how involved we got too! Haha. We left the event looking like purple zombies with powder all over our hair, faces, and bodies. Showering at the lodge was a mess as everything we touched turned purple. To this day, the blonde people still have a bunch of colors in their hair! My finger nails were purple for weeks after that.
After that, all the fun stuff kind of died down... I know you might not believe it but I do have lots of school stuff to do. Actually, everything we do is considered school but I sure don't think of it that way! We had a midterm for our Caribbean Culture and Society (CCS) course of the program that following Tuesday & I also had one for one of my classes at UWI. That weekend consisted of a lot of procrastination... But midterms came around & I think I did pretty well on them! (Hopefully!) We had a few lectures that week, including one on politics in Trinidad and Tobago to prepare us for our visit to Parliament. I won't bore you guys on the Trinidadian government but I'll tell you it's very different than the U.S. They use a Westminster system like that in Britain. We actually got to attend a passing of a bill at the Parliament building and it was interesting but not my favorite. The only cool things about it were that we got to dress up in formal business wear, we got to sit about 10ft away from the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and we got to witness a little bit of bacchanal in the room between the different representatives. Other than that, I tried my hardest not to fall asleep haha. But it was still a neat thing to experience and learn about as politics are a major part of every society.
That following weekend we planned a pool party BBQ with our friends. One of them lives in a beautiful mansion overlooking Port of Spain and the ocean. The pool was really nice to swim in, so nice that I was in it basically the entire night. That was a different setting than the usual weekends we've had. We all contributed to bringing something to the BBQ whether it was pitching in, making something, bringing something, or driving. I made the best guacamole I have ever made! Some of the guys have never had guacamole so I think I made them fall in love with it haha. That night was a long one.. When we left the house, most of us went down to Maracas Beach to watch the sunrise. As tired as I was, that was one of the nicest moments I had here. I ran out of the car to the beach like a little kid with a huge smile on my face. It could have been a slow-mo scene from a movie haha. I just love the beach so much & to be there to witness one of the most rewarding things God can give us, another day of life, was something that I was excited for. We stayed there for about an hour or two. Some people fell asleep in the car or on the beach while some others walked along the beach & played in the sand or water. It was a nice moment for all of us.
Another thing that happened this week was that most of us started our volunteer service work. This is part of our program so we have to log our hours & write reflections on our experiences. I am volunteering at the Autistic Society of Trinidad & Tobago & so far it has been so rewarding to be there. Debbie & I have helped them design their banner for an event this year and we have gotten to participate in their activities. Being there with other volunteers & staff members & the families that come with their kids is a nice way to escape the lodge and dedicate my time to something bigger. I love seeing all the kids with autism and their parents escape the reality of the world too. I really enjoy being there & I look forward to spending more time there.
This past week was also a little busy as we had a few lectures and meetings to do. Our lectures are coming to an end which is really nice because that means no more readings! Woo! haha. We also had a meeting with one of our program coordinators who helps us with our final paper. Now that we have about a month & a half left, the focus on our final presentations & papers is increasing which is really stressful. But anyways, we were ready for the weekend once it came around. We were celebrating Megan's 21st birthday! On Friday, a few of us went to Bruse bar to lime & have a good time but not going crazy because we had big plans for Saturday. At 8am on Saturday morning, we went to the Military Museum in Chaguaramas which was really cool. There were so many neat artifacts at the museum that aren't anywhere else so it was really cool getting that experience. Afterwards, I organized for us to go zip lining! That experience was the scariest but most adrenaline filled since we've been here! It was also in Chaguaramas overlooking Macqueripe beach. The moment we got there everyone's nerves were high & we were sweating more than usual haha. But no one backed out! The guides were all really cool, nice & helpful which added to the experience. I was so proud of everyone & myself for facing our fears & taking on this adventure! After the 3rd line everyone's nerves calmed down a bit & we made the best of it all the way through to the 7th & final line. One by one, we reached our end point & celebrated everyone that came down the line. It was so funny seeing everyone's excitement & having everyone cheer each other on. It was definitely something to be proud of! We will definitely be doing it again before we leave & this time we'll come prepared for the beach too! Later that night we went out to the Avenue for Megan's birthday again & that was lots of fun too since it had been a while since we've gone out like that. The highlight of the night was when I slipped & fell flat on my butt at Stumblin' (how convenient) haha. It was hilarious! We ended the night with some delicious gyros then came back to the lodge at around 4am.
What an eventful few weeks it's been. I still can't believe that we are here doing what we are doing. There is not a day that goes by that I am not appreciative of this opportunity. I've been living it up to the fullest & plan on doing so all the way to the end!

East Indian Experience

Saturday morning we got ready to start the beginning of out learning about the East Indian influence in Trinidad and Tobago. We left the lodge at 8am to go visit the fresh produce market in Chaguanas which is the biggest of its kind in all of Trinidad. It was so big that it had two floors and the second floor had an awesome view of the whole first floor where you can see all the rich and bright colors of the fresh produce from every stand. It was a really cool thing to see! Something that I don't think will compare to any farmers market in the states. While there we got some breakfast at a stand where they sold some delicious East Indian delicacies. They had doubles (which we can't ever have enough of), Saheena which is a vegetarian recipe of chopped spinach stirred in a split pea flour base & topped with some chutney & pepper if you can handle it ;) It was my first time trying it & it was sooo good! I'm planning to take the time to make it at the lodge so hopefully I'm successful at it.
After eating we drove off to visit the Indian Caribbean Museum. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Indo-Caribbean culture & it's the only one of its kind in the Caribbean. We were very lucky to have someone open the doors for us as that day it was supposed to be closed. Walking around the museum & learning about the history of the migration of Indians to the Caribbean was so awesome! We saw some actual artifacts from the immigration period & some copies of the ship records & the names of the immigrants on those ships. It was honestly mind blowing & really cool that they had so much information from that period of time.
Our next stop from there was to visit Siewdass Sashu's Temple in the Sea. This temple, as the name gives, was built by an indentured laborer from India, Siewdass Sadhu who came to Trinidad in 1907. Long story short, he was charged for trespassing & imprisoned for 2 weeks after he began building his 1st temple in 1947. He was released & declared that he would build his temple in the sea if he couldn't do it on land, so that is exactly what he did. He began the backbreaking work using a bike for transportation to carry 2 buckets with his materials back & forth every single day. The temple has been restored over the years but there is still a part of it that stands strong in the same spot Siewdass built it in. When we got there, there was a cremation ceremony that had just ended so it was really interesting to see how that compares to a ceremony in the states. We walked down the path that took us to the doors of the temple. Standing at the edge of the perimeter around the temple, overlooking the sea filled me with such a peaceful & spiritual feeling. It was a feeling I cant't put into too many words. I didn't to leave the place. I really liked how & what I was feeling at that moment. A few of us plan to go back & attend an actual service at the temple so I'm looking forward to that.
From the temple, our final stop of the tour was at the Dattatreya Yoga Center. At this location stands one of the tallest statues in the Caribbean, the Murti of Lord Hanuman at 85 ft. tall. This visit granted me another state of relaxation, spirituality & peace. We walked over to the temple that was also there & it was really cool to see the intricate architecture & details of the main temple. We enjoyed taking pictures & spending a lot of time absorbing the beauty of everything as we were the only tourists there. We were also lucky enough to speak to a guru that was there & he shared some wise words with us. None of us wanted to leave his presence as it surrounded us with peace & wisdom. We hope to go back to that location as well & talk to him longer as well as attend a service at that temple.
By the end of the tour, we were all starving so we went to an East Indian restaurant where they only had vegetarian options & that food literally brought me back to life haha. It was delicious! Overall, the tour we had that day was a really nice one& something I needed. It gave me some clarity & reminded me to keep myself grounded while I am here. I kept my family in mind the entire time so shout-out to them! <3

TRINIDAD CARNIVAL 2015!!!!!

The previous week has been sooo crazy, full of events, lack of sleep, & lots of fun! Everyone in Trinidad has been preparing for Carnival, which was on Monday & Tuesday. Most of the events that we have attended beforehand are warm ups for Carnival. Along the way we've had people ask us if we're in a band, if we're excited, & if we've gone to so and so event along with advice about safety & ways to enjoy ourselves while we're here. I've had an idea of what Carnival is like based off of YouTube videos & pictures online but that it soooo different to actually experiencing it! Not only are we living in Trinidad & Tobago 4 months but we got to be a part of so many things that many tourists or other international students don't have the opportunity to participate in. Below is a brief description of the events we attended the week leading up to Carnival.
On Tuesday the 10th, after dance practice, I had class so I went to that then came back & prepared for one of our group lectures. The one for that day was lectured by Candice & it focused on the History of the Canboulay Riots of 1881. If it wasn't for these riots, Carnival wouldn't be what it is today. Thankfully to the ex-enslaved who faught for their rights, Trinidadians now have what we know as Carnival Mas on Monday & Tuesday. I won't say too much about it on here but I highly suggest you guys take the time to learn about this point in Trinidadian history. Carnival is a whole lot more than half naked women & men, dressed up in beads & glitter, it's about the expression of freedom & celebration of their culture! Candice did really well at teaching us about & she was so knowledgeable about every fact; she did write her thesis on this when she graduated with her Master's from UWI after all. Later that evening, we attended the Stick Fighting Finals. They were held in an arena that looked like it also served a race car track or something. The seating was multiple stands & rows of chairs on the ground surrounding the fighting ring in the middle. People started filling up the place pretty quickly so we were glad we got there when we did & got really good seats right in front of the ring. When the fights started, we watched the Whip Masters come out & put on a show. They basically whipped each other with really thick ropes and even whipped themselves, it was pretty painful to watch but kind of cool haha. Then they had a group of Tamboo Bamboo players play some music, then they played the national anthem before the fights started. We got pretty into them as some of the fighters got really aggressive & it got really intense. The crowd hyped up a lot of the emotion too since a lot were acting like Barbarians and yelling at the fighters, it was pretty cool haha.
We didn't have anything scheduled for Wednesday so we all just relaxed that whole day because we had our final dance practice with Michael on Thursday at 8am. It was a little bittersweet coming to the end of those practices that we have worked so hard on. It was sad that we won't be seeing our funny choreographer as often but nice because we don't have to wake up at 8am every Tuesday & Thursday morning haha.  It went pretty well & we were all ready for Tuesday to perform. Later that day we went to Kaisorama which was a Calypso competition similar to the smaller ones at the Calypso tents. This event was held at the big stage at the Savannah where the King & Queen Prelims were. It was a lot of fun to watch talented singers take the stage, this time with the help of props, background dancers, and some funny skits that were part of their performances. We saw a few of the singers from the Kalypso Revue we went to a few weeks ago which excited us a bit. This competition was a lot more entertaining than the one we first went to overall just because there was a more going on. It was fun watching the finalists compete and watch, 'Lingo' (Joseph Vautor-La Placeliere), become the Extempo champion. We were there from 6pm until about midnight so as entertaining as it was, we were pretty exhausted & ready for bed since we would only get a few hours of sleep until the next event.
On Friday morning, we had to wake up at 3am so we basically got to nap after Kaisorama. We went to the Reenactments of the Canboulay Riots of 1881. We arrived and there were a lot of people already gathered already for the time that it was. I guess these reenactments always gather a good sized crowd so that explains why we had to arrive early enough. It took almost 2 hours for the show to start but it was so worth it because the show was so good! It was held in the middle of the street where the actual riots occurred and was reenacted by actors and volunteers that have done it for many years. It was really cool seeing what we learned be acted out. After the show, they held a mini parade with a few of the traditional characters that were a part of the show like the Dame Lorreine, Pierrot Grenade, the Blue Devils (our favorites!) & a few extras. That was lots of fun because the sun was already rising (it was 6am) and people were already partying! Sleep wasn't on my mind that's for sure! Haha. We left there to go get some breakfast that Ken was so kind to buy for us. We arrived at the lodge and took naps since later that evening we would be heading to Soca Monarch 2015! Candice told us about it a while ago & offered to buy our tickets. This isn't part of the program schedule so it was optional but we all decided we wanted to go so we joined her along with her family & friends. This competition was held at the Socadrome. We left the lodge with a fully loaded bus of people ready to fete all night! We arrived to the Socadrome and Candice & Ken gave us some information about sticking with the group and stuff & just to be careful since people can get pretty wild at this thing. We did a prayer circle with everyone that went which was such a nice moment to share. I'll say it again as I always do, I am so blessed to be meeting such amazing & kind-hearted people on this trip! We walked into the Socadrome & I was so excited the moment we walked through those gates. Seeing the lights, the stage, the big screen tv's and hearing the music gave me a feeling that I literally cannot explain. We marked our spot for our group then some of us ran up to the front of the stage while we still had the chance to... It was awesome! Seeing all these famous Soca artists perform all the songs we've been hearing everywhere since we arrived was such an amazing experience.. I still can't get those images out of my head! Ahhhh! We danced & drank all night & enjoyed ourselves to the fullest! We left there at like 5 in the morning & went straight to bed to prepare for another early morning the next day- or a few hours later haha.
Saturday morning, we left the lodge at 9am to attend the Kiddie Carnival held in Port of Spain. Right when we got to the street we coincidentally ran into the Rosalind Gabriel. It was so heart-warming & sweet seeing all the little kids so happy to be wearing the mas costumes. Me being the baby that I am, couldn't help but feel so joyful watching them dance through the streets in their beautiful costumes looking all adorable haha. We were at the parade only for a few hours which was good because after doing some shopping, I was feeling hungry & really tired from the long night before. I didn't go straight to sleep when we got back to the lodge because I wanted to be able to sleep that night. Sunday morning, we were out by 7am to attend Patois Mass in Paramin. This was a Catholic church service so I was interested in seeing if there would be any differences from this service to ones at home. There weren't, except for it was held in some English but mostly in Patois which is a Creole language spoken in parts of the Caribbean. I felt right at home being there because it reminded me of my mom & going to church with her so I decided to call her & tell her about it. I can tell it made her really happy to hear about it :) When church ended, we had some lunch which we ate in the maxi back to Tunapuna. When we arrived, a few of us went out to some shops to get last minute accessories for Carnival then hung out all day at the lodge. 

We were up & ready by 4am Monday morning J'ouvert which is the official start of the two days of Carnival. We were in a band called "Pointy Browne Productions" led by DJ Pointy Browne. We had matching tshirts so we cut them up & styled them however we wanted the night before. We met near POS with the many other band members & started parading through the streets following our music truck & our bar bus. That's the way these things work here. Each band has a huge semi truck with nothing but a DJ & huge speakers that leads the band playing Soca music all along the way & a smaller truck that's made into a bar that you can walk up to & ask for drinks. This was so much fun & convenient since we needed a few refills haha. We were wining & dancing through the streets, we had people throwing paint on each other, & I was so happy I had my camera to capture it all! It was sooo much fun doing that all the way through sunrise! We completely lost track of time but I believe that we made it back to our starting point at around 11am. We literally did that the entire morning & I enjoyed every minute of it. We made it back to the Lodge thanks to our driver Roger. There was another J'ouvert going on in Tunapuna that happened to be passing the lodge when we got there so some of us went & joined them. I was there for a little bit until I realized how tired & dehydrated I was so I went back to the lodge to start my resting.

Carnival Monday is the day of the Parade of the Bands. This is what you see on TV with everyone dressed up in sparkly & revealing outfits dancing down "D' Road." Us girls woke up super early to start doing our makeup & get ready. It was lots of fun being around the kitchen table with all our makeup & accessories spread out & seeing everyone's ideas come to life. We were picked up at 7am to head to our meeting spot at the Socadrome with the rest of Rosalind Gabriel's band. We got there & got our flags & hats that went with the costume & touched up some final things before heading out. Our first performance was right there on a big stage at the Socadrome which was a little nerve racking but exciting because we were finally going to perform what we've practiced so hard on! Dancing on stage gave me the biggest rush of adrenaline & seeing all these photographers & cameramen recording us added to that. We were there for a while before hitting the streets. When we went down Ariapita Ave. there were sooo many people gathered to watch the parade & so many people stopped us to take a picture with us. It was sooo exciting performing for everyone & seeing the look on their faces when they saw us, a group international students in their country, dressed up in mas & participating in Carnival. There were many other tourists that seemed surprised but excited to see us as well. When we reached our final judging point, we got a sweet introduction from the announcer that made me feel so proud & reminded me how lucky I was to be there. I was lucky enough to get pulled to the side by an interviewer who interviewed me on my thoughts about Carnival & Trinidad. I hope I was able to express my love & excitement for everything! (I'll try to find the video online & share it.) When we were done, we went over to a KFC in POS & had lunch to end our eventful day. 
Gosh, I had so much fun that entire day! As hot as the sun was & as sweaty as we got, our outfits & makeup stayed looking great & the energy all around was so positive! I would give anything to relive that experience all over again. I wish everyone could experience these events & see them through my eyes. Trinidad & Tobago has such a beautiful culture with so much rich history. I want everyone to live my experiences & not just hear about them because talking about them or sharing pictures does not do this beautiful place justice... Trinidad has a very special place in my heart! Now I am interested in seeing how things change around here post-Carnival season haha. Stay updated to find out! 

UWI Fete!

The first week we got here, we met one of the girls that lives at the lodge and is also a student at UWI. She mentioned that there was going to be a campus fete (party) on Feb. 8th and she offered to buy our tickets for us if we were interested. We all gave her money for our tickets and saved the date on our calendars from that day. Last night was SO MUCH FUN! I know I say this about every event but there really isn't a moment that we haven't had the time of our lives! Everyday here literally is the best day ever haha. We started the night by getting ready and running around trying to find what to wear. Most of the girls got ready in my room since I have the best lighting so they came to do their makeup while I was the hairstylist and curled some of the girls' hair haha. 

Once we were all ready, we gathered in the lobby to take some pictures and join Herzen's crew (our rides) to head to the bar and pregame a bit before heading to the fete. We ordered the usual drinks and hung out there for a few hours. It was lots of fun, as always, just talking to everyone and catching up with the guys since the last time we saw them. Once we saw that it was 2am, we decided to leave the bar and head to UWI. Oh! Side note- that's one thing here that's so different to the U.S. Parties here start laaaate. Most events and concerts are scheduled for late at night. The UWI fete was scheduled from 11pm to 6am. So we got to UWI, parked our cars and mobbed to where the fete was at on campus. Man, the site the stage, the crowd, the lights, and the tents of bars was such an awesome sight that activated my party mode haha. I was so ready to have a great night & that's exactly what we did. We kind of split up as some people went to buy some beers, some used the restroom and all that. We made our way up to the fence that divided the crowd from the stage and ended up meeting up with everyone there. After a while, Kassi, one of our friends who knows all the right people, got us into the VIP section behind the stage where they had a bar and it was less crowded. It was the perfect setting for the amount of people we had cause we like to be all together and chat with everyone in our group. At some point, me, Megan, and Debbie made our way onto the stage & were super close to dancing on the stage with one of the artists while he was performing and then we got kicked off haha. It's all good though because we still felt accomplished to make it that close! A few of us were right in front of the stage dancing and throwing colored powder into the crowd so that was lots of fun! 

By the time the fete ended, I think it was a little past 6am. We were walking to the cars as the sun was rising so that's a sign that we literally partied until the sun came out haha. I had so much fun with everyone & I can't help but be so thankful to be welcomed and surrounded by such a great group of guys! They are honestly so caring and protective of us & I really appreciate that they enjoy hanging out with all 11 of us haha. 

King & Queen Prelims and Blue Devils

Man, where do I even begin with these two events?! The King & Queen Prelims was on Thursday night and it was a competition where different mas camps makes a costume for a King and/or a Queen to compete in and represent their band and theme for the year. There were so many beautiful, shiny, huge costumes that walked the stage! We have been luck enough to stop by a few mas camps at the beginning of our trip to see the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to craft these costumes. It was amazing to see that these costumes were the outcome of hours and hours of sewing, gluing, stitching everything by hand! I mean, some of these costumes were 18 feet tall and 20 feet wide! They were beautiful! We not only got to watch them cross the stage for judging but we also got to go to the side of the stands where they put together the costumes and prepare to get on stage. We got to take some pictures with some of the costumes and meet a few of the competitors. It's so nice to see how passionate and competitive they are about this. It shows their appreciation of their culture and tradition.

On Friday morning we got up and ready for the Traditional Characters Parade. This parade showcases all the traditional characters of Carnival from the very beginning. There were so many groups of kids and adults dressed up in all types of characters like the Jab Jab, Dame Lorraine, Clowns, the Bookman, Moko Jumbie, Pierrot Grenade, and many more. Our group was part of the Blue Devils of Paramin. The Blue Devil is a mockery of the character that slave owners saw their slaves so when they get in character, they act as if they were devils begging for many, ruining homes, getting in your face and everything. Doing this was a big step out of my comfort zone but it was cool that we got to get all painted in blue and wear horns, we couldn't even recognize each other haha. We got some lessons a few days before the parade to learn how to be a Blue Devil and act like one. It was a little weird and embarrassing but those lessons definitely paid off because the rest of the group were pros at acting like one! Kids as young as 7 years old and guys in their 20's and 30's were chanting and dancing around with their pitchforks. I ended up getting $2 out of two women during the parade, shows that I did a good job! ;) And as kind of sad as it was seeing some little kids cry at the sight of us, it was very entertaining crawling up to them and feeding off their fear hahaha. The sun was sooooo hot throughout the day but they had people handing us water bottles which was real nice! I definitely wouldn't have survived the entire parade without all those waters I had haha. I am so happy I didn't back out of being a Blue Devil because this event only added to the list of all the fun things we've done here so far! As hard as it was to wash the paint off my body and clothes (all still in progress haha) it was totally worth it!

Picking up the Slack!

So to start off I apologize for slacking on updating my blog.. There's been so much that has happened that I get too lazy to write about it! But I will quickly touch upon a few of the things we've done since returning from Tobago. Classes started the Monday after we came back from our paradise in Tobago haha. Let me tell you, the way UWI works is so different to PLU and registration was THE most stressful and frustrating process yet. Knowing me, I like to be organized and know my way around things; that's not how things worked here so I learned a lot about myself as I tried to get settled into the campus atmosphere and figure my life out haha. I'm still getting the hang of things around here but I am way less stressed than I was at the beginning, so that's nice haha.
Aside from getting settled into classes, we have gone on a few group trips which have involved getting a tour of T&T's capital, Port of Spain. Getting to see that city and learn the history about the islands from a professional tour guide made me appreciate my surroundings so much more! It would've been one thing to walk around or have a friend show us around but the fact that we were on & off the bus, had someone telling us knowledgeable facts, and pointing out every little thing in the city made the experience so much better. A few days later, we got to go and watch the Malick Folk Performers at their studio. We were welcomed by a very talented group of people. We got a history lesson about the development of dance and music in the Caribbean from the drummers and dancers and it was amazing to watch. We also got to get out there and do the limbo with them and that was fun! They were such nice and beautiful people! Just this past Saturday, we went to a Calypso tent. Calypso is a music genre that started here in Trinidad and the tents are competitions where artists perform for the best song/performance of the year. We went to one called "Kalypso Revue." We watched about 30 singers perform their songs that focused on a variety of issues ranging from education/children, social, political, etc. It was kind of hard to understand some of the words but it was awesome to watch talented people sing about issues that everyone should pay attention to in any society and watch the live band perform for 6 hours straight! It was a really cool experience and atmosphere to get to listen to Calypso at some if its best. On Sunday, we went to the Panorama Semi-Finals and woooow, that was an awesome experience! Panorama is a steelpan band competition and the semi-finals usually attract a large number of people. We arrived and met with Ken who then led us into the arena. Imagine it being like a big outdoor concert, something like Summer Jam. We went through security, which must have only been to check for weapons because we walked in with trays and pans of food and large cases of beer haha. Then we walked up to the stadium seating but the side we were at had no seats. We were with a group and we all had matching t-shirts to show that we were there as one. The opposite side of the arena had seats and that area is for people who are pan enthusiasts and are there just to watch the competitors, Where we were was for all the party people haha. Our side was filled with groups of people that had tables to serve as bars (there were literally bottles on bottles on bottles- don't worry family, I drank responsibly!), and some of the drummers from Malick were there with their instruments. There were other bands on the bleachers because during the time where bands are transitioning on and off stage for competition, the rhythm sections in the stands play their music to keep everyone entertained. Our section was so fun and loud that many people gathered around us every time they played haha. It was pretty cool to watch and listen to! I still can't get over how fun that whole day was because after all that partying, we came back to the lodge in perfect time to watch the Super Bowl. I went and put my Seahawks shirt on & hung up my flag to watch the game. Although the game was filled with stress, suspense, & a horrible play call that caused a loss, I am so proud to be a Hawks fan and represent with pride! The team did their thing & played very well. Along with other games, it made me homesick & wished I could've been with family to watch it but I can't be upset with all the fun stuff going on around me here.
These next two weeks are going to consist of little sleep & lots of water in preparation for Carnival!! I am so excited for everything but a little worried as to how we are going to survive haha. I'll keep you all posted with pictures on Facebook and with the blog! Hope everyone is doing well! Much love!

Time to Get Settled In!

Sunday morning started off with some breakfast made by Yazmin. After that we caught a maxi for the first time to go grocery shopping. Maxis are a type of transportation system here in Trinidad & Tobago. There is one that carries 9 people & another that carries 24. They're always out on the road & you can get picked up by one basically anywhere you are, it doesn't have to be at a stop which is convenient. We rode the maxi to Massy Stores which is a grocery store similar to a Super Walmart. You can find anything there which was perfect to stock up on food & anything we need while living at the lodge. Grocery shopping is always stressful for me but this trip was the most stressful I've had haha. Most brands are different from those in the US, doing the math was confusing as we only had 300 US$ to spend (1800 TT$), & having 11 people run around the store trying to figure their lives out among the local shoppers caused so much traffic! Haha. It was a lot of fun though. We got picked up with Roger Rabbit since it would be too much work to catch a maxi back to the lodge with so many bags & what not. We got back to unpack everything & watch our refrigerators stock up with food. Shopping built up our appetites so a few of us went out into Tunapuna to find something to eat but had no luck since everything closes by noon on Sundays. We just walked back to the lodge & cooked for ourselves. I was so exhausted from so much walking around & the heat so I took a nap before the playoffs. I tuned in at 4pm my time & a few of the other girls that are also Seahawks fans joined me. We tried to do homework during the game but it was so distracting haha. We kept commenting about Russel's performance & stressing about the score by halftime & even more when it got to the final quarter... I was ready to pull my hair out until they scored within those last 5 minutes! Everyone was gathered in the lobby by then for dinner & our meeting so we were all very into it. Candice let us finish up the game before starting the meeting so we were super thankful for that haha. Unfortunately, we didn't get to watch OT since it was cutting into our time but when it ended, I was excited to find out that the Hawks won & are headed to the Super Bowl once again!!! WOOOO!! I was so excited & proud to represent my city all the way out here! It made me really wish that I was at home to share that moment with my friends & family! The night ended with some organizing & preparation for the first day of school the next day. I felt so nervous but excited to learn as well!

See ya soon, Tobago!

Saturday morning was kind of rough since we didn't go to bed until like 1am haha. We were all up & ready by 7 on the dot & headed down to Scarborough for our Rainforest hike in Gilpin Trace National Park. Once there we were met by our tour guide, Junior Thomas. He gave us all a pair of rain boots to borrow then we were on our way through the trail. The first was super nice & shady the whole time. Hearing the birds & water, smelling the nature around us, & seeing a the pretty plants was a nice comparison to Washington's forests. Of course they were very different types of forests but still, it was nice haha. The hike was 2 hours long & during it, we stepped in huge puddles of mud, took pictures in front of huge bamboo plants & got to swing on some vines! It was a day well spent. We got back to the cabins with an hour to get ready before we left to catch our flight back to Trinidad. It was sad to leave Tobago because it was such a beautiful place & we got to do so many new things but we will definitely be back to visit! At baggage claim, we met a local Trinidadian artist, Olatunji, or Ola, & got to take pictures with him! Varsha followed him on IG saw that he posted a picture of us on his page so we were all super excited haha. You can pretty much say we're famous ;) Roger Rabbit picked us up & took us straight back to the lodge. We all disbursed & unpacked/had dinner together at 7 again along with a meeting to debrief on the past week. It was a great week overall & coming back to the lodge is bittersweet... Now we have to mentally prepare for classes at UWI which start on Monday! Ahhh!

Liming at Banana Boat

Today we had class & it was the final day of reading the book for our religion class (yay!). We took a break & got to watch McKenzie & Megan from a distance help out some fishermen on the sea bring in a net full of fish they caught. After class, we went back over to our cabin & made some Mac & cheese & snacked on a few things to finish up the food we bought. I did some laundry afterwards then relaxed a bit while waiting for it. 4 of the girls went over to Pirate's Bay while the rest of us waited to go on the boat ride. The boat ride was so cool! We got to get up close to some rocks & one of them was the bird sanctuary & there were sooo many birds! It was so nice though. The waves were crazy out there & it was kind of scary cause I kept thinking about the worst case scenarios haha. It also made us a little sea sick but it was alright. When we got back to the dock we saw some fishermen fighting to reel their fish in. He was struggling so the fishermen on our boat gave him a hand. The guy let go of his line which we ended up catching & even then we struggled to bring the fish in. We couldn't imagine the size of this fish but it was putting a fight so I imagined it was a good one. It all happened so quickly but when he finally got a hold of it, a fish about 2 feet long was in out boat! I have never seen a fish that big being caught I thought it was super cool to watch these men do their job right in front of us! We celebrated with them then walked off to our cabins. Dinner was at 7 & it was our final night there. The night before, we all had agreed to go out one last time on Friday so we all were ready to go right after dinner. We went to the bar called Banana Boat which was just up the street from us. Other than a few guys & the bartenders, it was empty, but we got the party started! Haha. (P.S. Here in Trinidad, a common slang word for kicking it or chilling is "liming.") We each ordered a few beers to get the night started. It was a great night dancing & seeing friends that we had made over the week. We headed back to our cabins by midnight since we had to be up & ready by 7am the next day. We thought we were gonna eat a little bit then head straight to bed but it turns out that a few of the guys we met followed us back & wanted to hang out with some of the girls they had their eyes on. I was too tired to even deal with that but we eventually got them to leave.. It was definitely a learning experience for the group & it goes to show that Trinidadian men are very persistent. Just something to keep in mind for future outings! 

Being a Typical Tourist at Store Bay

So today we ended up switching class day with going to Store Bay! Man... It was so much fun! I got kind of queasy on the bus ride there but once we got there we ran to the glass bottom boats before they left us! We shared the boat with other people who were vacationing there since Bucco Reef also has a resort. I have never seen such tan & soft sands & bright blue waters... When the boat went departed the beach, we got a gorgeous view of the island known as Pigeon Point. Throughout the boat ride, the captain was pointing out fun facts & things to look at. Through the glass, we could see corals & fish beneath us which was super cool to see! We stopped in the middle of the ocean to get off the boat for those who were strong swimmers to snorkel. I got off & hung on to the rope. Being able to swim out in the middle of the Caribbean Sea & be so close to the fish & coral was such an amazing experience! I've never been close to doing something like that so that was really cool. We all got back on the boat then continued to drive out to the islands in the middle of the ocean there is a barrier reef that surrounds the coral reefs & all the sands & dead coral that get pushed up to the center make little islands that allow you to stand in the middle of the sea! You can see the waves crashing against the barrier miles away all around us! We all got off our boats & joined others in swimming & standing around those islands in the middle of the sea. The boats put music on so we were basically having a huge party out in the water haha. We got to take a group picture with the 12 flag too which was cool :)  The captain told us that the sands there are good for exfoliating so we were all rubbing the sand beneath us all over our bodies & faces haha. It really did make our skin feel so smooth! It kind of hurt since I'm still sun burnt but I didn't care. The boat ride was 2 hours long. We got back on the boat to head back & we were free to do whatever we wanted for 3 hours until we leave. We all were super hungry so we ordered some food. I got crab & dumplings that Candice highly recommended but I honestly didn't enjoy them. The crab came as a whole so it creeped me out but it was also hard to crack open which made it too difficult to enjoy my food. I threw it away & went to get a chicken roti but then that had bones in it & I couldn't enjoy that either.. I was a little disappointed but it was okay, what I had filled me up which was good I guess. After eating we walked around the souvenir shops & I got so many things there to bring back to people at home. I spent way too much money so I hope that what I got was good! Haha. We hung out on the beach for the last hour or so. I took a picture holding my 12 flag & it caught the attention of an older couple sitting on the beach. They turned out to be from Everett & had a daughter that also went to PLU! What a small world right? It was nice to see that my flag is a conversation starter haha. On the ride back to Charlotteville, everyone was exhausted but we were ready for our BBQ dinner that Candice had planned for us. We got arrived to the cabins with an hour to get ready then walked over to the restaurant. As usual, Suzanne, Michael, Declan, Linda & Luis joined us :) The food was delicious! The party started as soon as we finished eating so they cleared up some tables & got to dancing! We literally danced all night & even a few of the guys that live around here joined the party. It was such a good time with everyone & a great workout!

Soaking up the Sun in Pirate's Bay

We had class this morning & we finished an hour early which was perfect because the sun was out & we were all really excited to take advantage of it & actually do something outside! We had planned to go up to Pirate's Bay so when class ended, we went to change & put out bathing suits on, had some lunch then hiked over to the beach. It was about a 20 minute walk there with a steep incline so we definitely broke a sweat but the views on the way there were perfect! We stopped to take pictures then continued to make our way down. There were some really steep stairs going down to the beach which was kind of sketchy to walk down but we took our time. Once we hit the sand we all did nothing but take pictures of everything. The beach is gorgeous, the sand was so soft, the sun was shining, the water was so blue... Man, it was beautiful! We laid our stuff down & took our clothes off & ran into the ocean. The water felt sooo good after hiking down there! Varsha didn't know how to swim so Debbie, McKenzie & Megan all taught her how while the rest of us went out into the blue haha. She actually picked up pretty quick though & it was nice to celebrate with her a new accomplishment :) We literally spent out whole day doing nothing but tanning & swimming & it couldn't have been any better. A few hours passed & Suzanne & her family & friends (Linda & Mexican MacGyver) along with Candice & the baby came down to the beach & it was nice to have everyone there even though we were all sprawled out. We met a guy named Clayton but he told us to call him Bash.. He was a friend of Candice's & told us how he lives & works on the beach renting out lawn chairs. He was real nice & kind of hung around our group wanting to talk to us. After a while & after finishing our snacks, Lauren, Katy & I walked over to a fruit stand on the beach. They had coconuts, bananas, & pineapples so we bought a big pineapple to share with the group.. It was delicious! We continued to tan & lay around then half the group decided to head back over to the cabins. The other half stayed back a while then walked up too. The sun & water definitely wore us out & made us hungry so when we got back, I made quesadillas for our cabin with sliced avocados on the side. I noticed that I got a lot of color. Myface, chest, back, & arms are super red & burning.. I'm excited to see what the tan will look like though:) We showered, chilled & did some homework before dinner then went over to have dinner which was delicious! During dinner Candice had us do an activity about our hopes, fears & expectations of the trip & just cleared the air on some things for us. When that was over, cleaned up then headed over to our cabin & on the way, Morgan mentioned something about pranking their cabin... Right away, Lauren & I were in! Haha. We went to tell McKenzie & Q about it so we got to planning it right away. Morgan & I went over to make sure that the kitchen door was unlocked so we played it off by going over for a grapefruit. While there, Morgan unlocked the kitchen door for us to make sure it stays that way for our plan. We put on dark clothes & found sticks to use as our noise making objects. We snuck over & scratched the window of Harmony & Varsha's room with the stick & heard them freaking out right away. I signed McKenzie with my flashlight to make the call to Debbie & make it seem like someone was making noises at our place too. Q, Morgan, Lauren & I went around the house to the kitchen door for the grand finale. We made a few more noises then made sure that they were all in the living room, which they were & that's when Q barged in screaming with us following in behind him & they screamed their heads off hahahaha. It was the funniest thing to watch! Our plan went just as planned which was perfect & scared all of them so good! It was a great way to end the night & I'm excited to see what they come up with to get us back.

Slow Day on the Island

Today we woke up with enough time to have some breakfast that Q kindly offered to make. He made us some scrambled eggs with turkey bacon & toast on the side. We all ate & then got ready for class. Class was held in Cabin 5 next door where the other half of the group was staying. I think today was a good class cause we had small group discussions & out group got pretty into it.. Towards the end of class, Bailey noticed that the floor was wet so we looked around & notices that he toilet was leaking & flooded the entire bathroom & was making its way to the living room. Class was pretty much over so we all got up & moved things around & kind of freaked out haha. Suzanne called Candice & she told us that the plumber wasn't in town at the time. We all just threw any towel we could find to stop the water & soak it up in its tracks. Candice shut the water off & we started to ring the water out of the towels to try & soak everything up. While we were doing that, someone saw a huge cockroach & Debbie freaked out haha. Bailey tried to pick it up to take it out but it ended up making its way into the shower room where I was & so I freaked out & tried hopping my way out without stepping on it or falling haha. We cleaned up as best as we could then I went back over to my cabin. Morgan, McKenzie & Lauren were all eating sandwiches & chips so I joined them. We decided to take advantage of the rain stopping & walk around Charlotteville so we did that. Us 4 walked around & went to a store, passed by the field, the library, police station, a little school & basically toured our surroundings. It was nice to get out & see what's around even though there wasn't much. We did notice that there was a small handful of other tourists around which was cool to see. When we got back we all kind of did our own thing & I decided to take a nap. It was nice to not hear the rain for a while & walk around without having to get soaked but it made its way back & now it's raining again. Q came in to kind of wake me up but I was kind of awake already so I got up & went outside with Morgan & McKenzie who were gonna go swimming & ate some cereal. Morgan had wandered off for a bit & came back to tell us she found a lemon tree so Lauren & I joined her to pick some. We decided to make some drinks & sit on the beach while it wasn't raining so we mixed some white oak, fruit lunch, sprite & lemon juice from those lemons & got to watch the clouds change colors from the sun that was peeking through the clouds. It was such a nice & relaxing moment to sit back & relax out there. Once it started to get darker, we went back in to get ready for dinner. Dinner was held at the cabin next door so we went over & had some delicious food once again. Afterwards, we had a small meeting then when the adults left, we played some games & drank a bit. It was sooo much fun playing charades & another game that Harm showed us haha. We took a break from the games & went from a walk on the beach after having a few drinks which was also really fun haha. We came back & walked over to Sharon & Pheb's.. They were closed but Sharon heard us coming & opened it just for us to get some drinks which was super sweet of her! We walked back with our drinks in hand & some went to the beach but Debbie, Katy & I stayed back & hung out in my cabin. It was such a a nice relaxing day today! Our group is definitely a good one & I love that everyone is down for anything!

Arriving to Tobago!

Today we left the lodge at 7am to get to the airport on time for our flight to Tobago! We were all really excited to go & when we were walking out to the airplane, we took a bunch of selfies & pictures of each other haha. It was like a scene from a movie. The flight from Trinidad to Tobago was about 20 minutes so it was a new experience to be on an airplane for that amount of time. On the plane I met a Jamaican guy whose name was Devon. He's 35 an works for Digicel, a cellphone plan company popular in the Caribbean. He was flying to Tobago for a presentation he had. He mentioned how he has been to sooo many pales around the world & thought that was really cool. The whole plane ride, we talked about traveling & the different places he's been to & how different they are & stuff. We landed in Tobago & had to run out of the airplane through some rain & wind.. We were looking through the window while waiting to get off & watched a ladies hat fly off her head & it took like 3 other guys to run after it & chase it haha. It was pretty entertaining. We got our luggage then went out to get on our bus. We stopped at Penny Savers, a grocery store to stock up on some food for our cabins since we'll be in Tobago for a week. My group had me, Morgan, McKenzie, Lauren, & Q. It was fun walking around the store figuring out what we need & want. Seems like we got more than both since we went $100 over our $700 budget! After, we made our way to a produce stand & got some stuff from there too. Some of us stayed on the bus & were telling the other group members what to get through the windows & stuff, it was funny. After that, we stopped at a restaurant to get some food & I got fries, potatoes & macaroni salad. I've been getting tired of eating meat with bones in it so I avoided that. Leaving the bones in is a thing here so that's another thing that I have to get used to. From there we finally continued to make our way to the cabins. Upon arrival, we dropped off Suzanne & her family off first then went over to ours. We unloaded the bus & checked out the place. Ours is pretty cool.. I'm sharing a room with Morgan then McKenzie & Lauren are right next to us & Q has his own apartment almost in the back part of the cabin. Everyone kind of did their own thing. Some were unpacking, some of us went to the beach which is basically our front yard! It's like 20 feet outside of our cabins which is so nice! We hung out for a bit then decided to go to a bar down the street. We went to one called Sharon & Pheb's Restaurant & Bar. It was super nice & on the hill so there were like 3 flights of stairs to get up to it. There, we all ordered some drinks. It was actually our first time having drinks as group! Everyone got Carib's- a local beer that's pretty good- and I got a Smirnoff black ice which was also pretty good. We were all talking among each other then some of us decided to get another round. Harmony, Morgan & I asked the cashier what kinds of drinks she makes & she ended up making us one that she called "rummy fruity" which had some dark rum, lime, brown sugar & some orange juice type thing- it was real good! A few of the others went to get one too haha. I saw that Debbie got some Bailey's on the rocks so I went for my 3rd & final round & got some too! The cashier warned me about mixing drinks so I made it clear that this was my last one haha. It was so much fun just hanging out, joking around & sharing stories as a group.. Everyone is so laid back & fun to be around. We hung out there for a few hours since it started to rain so we waited it out for a bit too. We left the bar with 2 bottles of White Oak rum to have for ourselves & went back to the cabins to kill some time before our meeting. We ran into Suzanne, Michael & Declan on the beach & they followed us in to get a tour of our cabins.. Declan came in with a branch of big red leaves that he found on the ground & gave it to us to have in our little home haha:) Q, Varsha, McKenzie, Lauren, Morgan & I hung out in the room & chatted then Harmony, Megan & Bailey came to join us. That was also fun just kicking back for a bit :) there are a couple of stray dogs on the island & some wander around the cabins & follow us around which is pretty cute but safe cause some have open wounds & we can't do anything with them, but, we names them which is really funny & cute when they're around trying to figure out who is who. We named them with dessert names so one is brownie, one is muffin, another is cupcake & one is lemon pie haha. We went over to cabin #5 where the other girls were staying & had dinner there made by 2 women that work here. We all chatted it up at dinner with Suzanne & the family then went back to our own cabins & ended the night doing some homework. Also, it was pouring nonstop all throughout the day so we hope that it clears up for the remainder of our time here!

A Day of Relaxation

Today was a slow day for us. After class ended at noon, I did some organizing in my planner then went outside to see what everyone was up to.. One of the girls put up her hammock in between two palm trees we have in the courtyard so I put on some tanning oil & laid on it for a bit. What started off as tanning turned out to be a 30 minute power nap haha. It was a very nice nap & it was also nice waking up to some tan lines on my very pale legs haha. I am excited to see how much darker I get while here! When I woke up, I did some reading for our next class which wasn't too fun but it was a good use of my time. We had an orientation at 5 pm to talk about our home-stays for the weekend. We were all eager to find out who we will be staying with & who we will be partnered with from the group. We leave tomorrow morning at 8 am to stay with our host families & I'm so excited to see what that's going to be like! I don't want to give away too much information until afterwards so hang on tight! Throughout the day I noticed myself reapplying bug spray. I have been itching like crazy non-stop & I have many mosquito bites to prove it.. I took some time to count up how many bites I had & I counted 58 bites! I bought some ointment to relieve the itching & it helps a bit but it's annoying having to repeatedly reapply throughout the day haha. I'm dealing fine with it but it just sucks when one starts to itch & then another & so on! Dinner arrived by 7 pm again tonight. I am not sure on the name of what we had tonight but it was almost like a macaroni & cheese type of serving with chicken on the side that reminded me of the Mexican dish, mole, & some beans on the side. Once again, I was not disappointed with the food! We watched tv while eating in the lobby & I enjoyed that time with the group. We were watching Ridiculousness on MTV so we were pretty entertained & shared some good laughs haha. Today was a very slow day which was a nice switch up from the other days. We are still adjusting to everything & we're kind of ready to get a consistent schedule going but we definitely can't complain about this down time in paradise! :)

Day 2: A Very Eventful Day!

Today was the first day of our Religion 231: Myth, Ritual, & Symbol course that we are taking over the month of January here in Trinidad. The course is taught by a professor from PLU & she is out here with her husband & son to teach the course to us! The class was taught in the lobby of the lodge which is outdoors & undercover. It was weird for both the professor & the students since it wasn't a normal classroom setting with a white board & all but it was a different experience! The class was from 9am to 12pm. It was pretty interesting but kind of hard to stay focused since we are in a beautiful & sunny place haha.
After class, me & a few of the other girls took advantage of free time & went to buy some notebooks & other supplies we all needed. It took a lot longer than planned so of course we built up an appetite. We dropped our stuff off at the lodge then went to add minutes on our cellphones/look for a place to eat. Not all of us had wandered towards UWI's campus (which is like a 5 minute walk from the lodge) so we walked that way to see what restaurants we'd run into. We came across Eddy's which is a restaurant & bar but they didn't have any food prepared because it wasn't lunch time. We all thought that was really weird since in the US a restaurant has food from open to close. We walked out & continued our search onto UWI's campus. We came across a little cafe called "Rituals Coffee House." There I ordered a BBQ ham & cheese panini with a blended Dulce de Leche chiller... It was soooo yummy! After eating, we took pictures in front of a few of the buildings around us which was exciting to see since we will shortly be starting classes there! We made it back in time to the lodge for our 2nd orientation which was about the Caribbean Culture & Society portion of the semester. We received so much information about this course & realized we have a lot of homework for it but we feel confident that it will be easy as it consists of the trips, excursions, & everyday activities we will be doing throughout the semester.
Shortly after the meeting, dinner arrived! Tonight we had "Pelau" which is a traditional dish made of pigeon peas & rice cooked with meat and coleslaw & salad on the side. It was also pretty delicious! After dinner, was our trip to go meet with Rosalind Gabriel- the designer of our costumes for Carnival!!! We went to the very building where all the costumes are designed & handmade... Let me tell you, these costumes are verrryyyy detailed & extravagant & they are all made by hand! People pay thousands of TT dollars to have these made for Carnival but I can say that every penny is worth it. This woman & her workers are very talented & there are many trophies in here house to show that! The costumes we saw were beautiful & I am so excited to be wearing one for Carnival in February! :)
After this visit, we went to a few steel pan band camps to watch their rehearsals. The steel pan is a traditional instrument played here in Trinidad. We went to listen to 3 different bands who compete during Carnival. This was really cool because we got to see what goes on behind the scenes for this part of the event.. It was really cool & fun to watch & listen to!
We thought we were going straight back to the lodge after these visits but little did we know that Ken & Norvan had a little surprise in store for us. They took us to a to "Parang" which is an outdoor party that is hosted by anyone who wants to host one. Here in Trinidad, Christmas holiday ends until January 6th. So to keep the holiday spirit alive, Trinidadians host these Parangs which people usually go door to door to be a part of. Neighbors, family, friends & even strangers are welcome! This was such a surprise.... especially when they took us to the kitchen to serve us drinks haha! Imagine that? Kicking it at a party with our directors & even our PROFESSOR! Yes, our professor from PLU was there haha. They served us a few drinks with Trinidadian rum & they were delicious. We had a live DJ there playing local music. The music was so local that even one of the artists whose song played was there! We got to meet the guy & he was very humble & kind to us. Everyone was! We danced & drank as a group & with everyone that was there & had so much fun! The Trinidadian culture is much like the Mexican culture where we welcome anyone that wants to party with us & have a good time! I felt so comfortable being there & had such a great time dancing to their music. Tonight was definitely a night that I will remember forever! What a warm welcome we had & what a good way to start the festivities that are awaiting us!

My First Day in Tunapuna!

My first day in Trinidad has been soooo tiring! We landed in Port of Spain around 12am Monday night, went through immigration (which took forever!) and got our bags which all together took us about 2 hours to get through. At the airport, Candice, a Trinidad native and one of PLU's program directors for Trinidad and Tobago, welcomed us as soon as we exited the airport. We put all of our luggage in a bus and then they took us to the Caribbean Lodge which is our home for the next 4 months. Once there, Candice gave us the keys to our rooms and a quick overview of the place and the plans for the next day. We all have our own rooms here at the lodge and the building is shared with other Trinidadian students that attend the University of West Indies where we will be taking classes as well. Once in my room, I unpacked a few things just to get a little comfortable then went to bed by 3:30 am (Atlantic time). I was exhausted from so much flying and hauling my luggage around but I couldn't fall asleep right away because of everything that was running through my head!
The next morning, breakfast was ready by 7:30am but was optional. I woke up early enough to go down to the kitchen and have some. I was greeted by Yazmin, the kind woman that will be making our food for the next week & helps out around the lodge. She was excited to meet and greet everyone that came down and enjoyed the food she made us. We had to be ready and in the lobby by 9 am for an orientation so those who ate, went back to finish getting ready then met with the group. Candice introduced us to two men that have worked with the program for many years, Kenneth & Norvan. They all gave us some simple rules about safety, transportation, and even a little motivational talk. We left the lodge and toured a small part of Tunapuna, the city we live in. We went down the main road and familiarized ourselves with the Tunapuna Market, the shopping center, the bank, cosmetic store, the police station, pharmacy, the post office, and a few restaurants and bars- all the important places we need to know while living here. I love that everything is walking distance! The roads were pretty narrow and crowded with people and cars. They drive on the left ride of the road here which was so weird to see, especially when we needed to cross the road haha. While walking, we got many stares and catcalls from the locals but nothing that made me too uncomfortable. It was actually pretty funny because sometimes we just don't know how to respond so we just laugh it off haha.
The directors let us roam around on our own for a couple of hours to do whatever we wanted so our group split up into smaller groups. Me and a few others went to the bank to exchange our currency, then we went to the shopping center to get a few things we need for our rooms & got some food to go. I ordered this thing called "Bodi Potato Channa" which was a wrap type thing stuffed with potatoes and spicy peppers. It was really yummy & very spicy, just how I like my food! ;) After eating, I went up to my room to finish unpacking and put things away then took a nap.... a much needed nap haha. I woke up feeling pretty well rested then headed downstairs for a scheduled meeting with the group then enjoyed some dinner together. We had BBQ chicken with rice, potato salad & noodle salad. Now I'm hanging out in my room, about to take a nice shower, read for my first homework assignment, then call it a night.. Tomorrow is our first day of our Religion class with a professor from PLU so I gotta be prepared for that! Overall, it was a great first day! I am in love with the place already & I know I'm going to love everything else we have planned! I'll try my best to keep this blog updated! Hope everyone reading this enjoys it! :)